OU Softball: Oklahoma Falls to Florida in Regular Season Finale

Despite dropping their third SEC series of the year, the Sooners captured the conference's regular season title on Friday, as well as the No. 1-overall seed in next week’s conference tournament. 

Another free pass came back to bite Oklahoma’s pitching staff in the first inning. 

OU (43-7, 17-7) starter Sam Landry walked Jocelyn Erickson, then a Taylor Shumaker double was followed by a Reagan Walsh sacrifice fly to give the Gators a 1-0 advantage after one inning. 

Sanders nearly tied the game back up to lead off the second, but Florida center fielder made another perfectly timed catch at the wall in center to keep the ball in the park and keep the Sooners off the board. 

Landry walked another pair and allowed a single to load the bases in the third with no outs.

Florida (43-13, 14-10) left fielder Korbe Otis hit the ball to the shallows in center field, and Hannah Coor was unable to make a spectacular diving catch, instead allowing a pair of runs to score. 

The Gators loaded the bases again with one out, but a line drive straight back to Landry was caught and she was able to throw over to third for a double play to escape the frame.

Sanders was not deterred by Falby’s heroics in the second. 

She crushed a home run well beyond the wall in left with two outs in the fourth to cut the deficit down to 3-1.

Dayton singled and Isabela Emerling drew a walk to put a pair aboard after Sanders’ bomb, but Coor grounded out to end the frame.

Landry motored through the heart of Florida’s offense to bring the top of OU’s order to the plate in the fifth. 

Kasidi Pickering and Ella Parker led off the inning with a double and a single to put runners on the corners with no outs, prompting Florida coach Tim Walton to pull starter Keagan Rothrock in favor of Ava Brown. 

Garcia, OU’s freshman shortstop, made it a one-run game with a sacrifice fly, but Nelly McEnroe-Marinas and Ailana Agbayani were unable to do any more damage, and the Gators maintained a 3-2 lead into the bottom half of the inning.

Brown’s home run was the beginning of the end for Landry in the sixth. 

Florida loaded the bases, then Falby scored on a passed ball. Walsh put the ball in play with runners on the corners, and the OU defense was unable to make a play at the plate, prompting Patty Gasso to bring freshman Audrey Lowry in for Landry with one out and the Sooners down 6-2.

Landry threw 114 pitches in 5 1/3 innings of work, allowing six hits, six runs (four earned) and six walks while striking out five of the 31 batters she faced.

Lowry got out of the sixth, and OU brought Pickering, Parker and Garcia to the plate in the seventh.

Parker’s walk added a runner so Garcia’s one-out blast was a two-run shot to bring Oklahoma within two runs. 

Brown struck out McEnroe-Marinas, but Agbayani drew a walk to bring the potential tying run, Sanders, to the plate.

Sanders following Agbayani’s example and earned a free pass with a walk, to bring up Thursday’s game-winner, Dayton.

Dayton battled, but ultimately bounced out to seal the defeat. 

The entire SEC will now descend upon Athens, GA. With the top seed locked down, the Sooners are idle until Thursday as they have a bye on each of the first two days of the tournament.